U.S. patent number 3,762,769 [Application Number 05/208,860] was granted by the patent office on 1973-10-02 for seat, especially for motor vehicles.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Recaro AG. Invention is credited to Gunter H. Poschl.
United States Patent |
3,762,769 |
Poschl |
October 2, 1973 |
SEAT, ESPECIALLY FOR MOTOR VEHICLES
Abstract
A seat for a motor vehicle, the back rest of which is adjustable
to different substantially sinusoidal curvatures by turning a
single hand wheel. If the back rest carries a head support, an
adjustment of the shape of the back rest also causes the position
of the head support to be shifted forwardly or rearwardly.
Inventors: |
Poschl; Gunter H. (Schwaikheim,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Recaro AG (Glarus/Schweiz,
CH)
|
Family
ID: |
5792547 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/208,860 |
Filed: |
December 16, 1971 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Dec 30, 1970 [DT] |
|
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P 20 64 419.3 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
297/284.4 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N
2/643 (20130101); B60N 2/667 (20150401); A47C
7/462 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47C
7/46 (20060101); A47c 007/14 (); B60n 001/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;297/284,391,458,460 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nunberg; Casmir A.
Claims
Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is:
1. A seat having a seat part and a back rest, said back rest
comprising a substantially rigid frame having substantially
horizontal upper and lower frame members and lateral frame members
connecting said upper and lower frame members to each other, a
padding support divided into an upper part and a lower part, upper
pivot means for pivotably connecting said upper part near its upper
end to said upper frame member, and lower pivot means for pivotably
connecting said lower part near its lower end to said lower frame
member, said upper and lower pivot means having substantially
horizontal axes, adjusting means for pivoting said two parts to
different positions relative to each other about said upper and
lower axes and for maintaining said two parts in each of said
positions, and padding means connected to one side of said two
parts, said two parts of said padding support consist of two
substantially rigid plates, and flexible means connecting said
plates to each other at their edges facing each other, said two
plates are curved in opposite directions to each other and said
flexible means pivotably connect said edges of said plates to each
other, said adjusting means being adapted to act upon one of said
plates adjacent to said edges to pivot both of said plates
simultaneously in opposite directions about said axes, said pivot
means on one of said parts also being slidably connected to one of
said horizontal frame members so as to be slidable substantially in
the direction of said lateral frame members when said plates are
being adjusted by said adjusting means from one position to a
different position relative to each other.
2. A seat as defined in claim 1, in which, when said back rest is
seen from the front, said upper plate has a convex curvature and
said lower plate has a convex curvature, said flexible means
connecting said edges of said two plates forming at least one hinge
having a substantially horizontal axis, said plates when seen in a
side view together having a continuous substantially sinusoidal
curvature.
3. A seat as defined in claim 1, in which said upper pivot means
comprise at least one hinge, and said lower pivot means comprise
means for connecting the lower end of said lower plate to said
lower frame member so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis as
well as slidable substantially in the direction of said lateral
frame members.
4. A seat as defined in claim 1, in which said adjusting means
comprise gear means, a manipulating member mounted on one of said
lateral frame members and rotatable about its axis for turning said
gear means and an eccentric member connected to said gear means and
extending eccentrically to said last mentioned axis and adapted to
act upon the rear side of one of said plates near said flexible
connecting means.
5. A seat as defined in claim 4, in which said gear means are
adapted to be turned by said manipulating member so as to turn said
eccentric member, said gear means incapable of being turned by said
eccentric member when a pressure is exerted by one of said plates
upon said eccentric member.
6. A seat as defined in claim 1, further comprising means for
securing a head support to said upper part of said padding support
so that, when said upper part is pivoted to a different position by
said adjusting means, said head support will also be pivoted to a
different position relative to the head of an occupant of said
seat.
Description
The present invention relates to a seat, especially for a motor
vehicle, which has a back rest the longitudinal shape of which is
adjustable and which is provided with a padding support which is
divided in the transverse direction into two parts which are
pivotable relative to each other.
There is a known seat of this type in which the lower half of the
padding support is pivotable about a horizontal axis which is
located at the level of its upper edge, while the upper half of the
padding support is rigidly connected to the frame of the back rest.
This seat therefore only permits the depth of the seat to be varied
by pivoting the lower half of the padding support. This has
principally the disadvantage that the more the lower half of the
padding support is pivoted forwardly, the more orthopedically
unsuitable the seat and back rest will become to its occupant.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat the back
rest of which is adjustable by very simple means to vary its
longitudinal shape which determines the supporting surface for the
back of a seat occupant, and which still permits especially the hip
area of the occupant to be properly supported orthopedically.
Proceeding from a seat of the type as described in the first
paragraph above, this object is attained according to the invention
by movably connecting the upper part of the padding support of the
back rest adjacent to its upper edge and the lower part of this
support adjacent to its lower edge to the frame of the back rest
and by supporting both parts at least indirectly on an adjusting
device which permits them to be pivoted to and maintained in
different positions relative to each other.
Such a padding support of a back rest which is adjustable to the
greatest extent adjacent to the joint between its upper and lower
parts and in the longitudinal direction of the seat permits the
longitudinal shape of the back rest to be varied considerably in
accordance with the requirements of the seat occupant, also insofar
as the depth of the seat is concerned, and at the same time it
produces a good support of the hip area of the occupant. This is
true particularly if in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the invention each of the two parts of the padding support of the
back rest forms a stiff plate and the two plates are pivotably
connected to each other at their edges facing each other. The two
plates will then together form a supporting surface for the back of
the seat occupant which is molded and curved in accordance with the
orthopedic requirements of this particular occupant. Normally it
will then be sufficient to provide the upper plate longitudinally
with a concave curvature as seen from the back of the seat occupant
and the lower plate with a convex curvature. The padding support of
the back rest will then be curved longitudinally substantially in
accordance with the course of a normal human spinal column, as seen
in a side view. This basic longitudinal shape of the back rest will
remain, even though its particular curvature may be varied by
pivoting the two plates relative to each other by means of the
adjusting device. Although an adequate support of the spinal column
could also be attained if the frame of the back would be divided in
its transverse direction and the two frame parts would be connected
to each other so as to permit them to be locked in different
pivoted positions relative to each other, such a divided frame of
the back rest would, however, be unsuitable for safety reasons,
especially if a safety belt is to be secured to this frame.
The adjusting device for the padding support of the back rest
according to the invention is preferably provided with a locking
device and designed so as to permit an adjustment to be carried out
as easily as possible. This requirement may be fulfilled, for
example, by providing the adjusting device with a planetary gear,
which is especially of advantage since it permits the connecting
points of the two parts of the padding support to be shifted in a
very simple manner as by an eccentric in the longitudinal direction
of the seat relative to each other.
If in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention one
or a pair of supporting elements for a head support are secured to
the upper part of the padding support of the back rest, the further
advantage is attained that, when the shape of the padding support
is changed, the head support will also be pivoted to a different
position about a horizontal axis. The head support may in this
manner be adjust considerably in the longitudinal direction of the
seat. This is of great advantage insofar as a head support can
effectively protect the head of a seat occupant only if it is in
engagement with or closely adjacent to the head. If sufficiently
secure the head supports as are presently known, may, if at all, be
adjusted only insufficiently in the longitudinal direction of the
seat so as to be moved into engagement with the head of the seat
occupant or to a position closely adjacent thereto.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become
further apparent from the following detailed description thereof
which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which
FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic perspective view of the back rest
according to the invention from which the padding is removed;
while
FIGS. 2 and 3 show two diagrammatic side views of the back rest
according to FIG. 1 in different positions of adjustment and with a
head rest thereon.
In the drawings, a vehicle seat 1 comprises a seat part 2 of a
conventional construction and a back rest 3 which is pivotably
connected to the seat part 2 by means not shown and adapted to be
locked in different angular positions relative to the seat part.
The back rest 3 comprises a frame consisting of a pair of lateral
frame members 4 extending in the longitudinal direction of the back
rest and of a pair of transverse frame members 5 and 6 which
connect the lateral frame members 4 to each other at their upper
end and near their lower end, respectively.
By means of a hinge 7 the upper edge of a padding support is
pivotably connected to the upper transverse frame member 7. This
padding support consists of two substantially rigid plates 8 and 9
which have reinforced lateral edges 8' and 9' and a slightly
smaller width than that of the space between the lateral frame
members 4 so that they may be passed through this space without
engaging with the frame members 4. The upper plate 8 which is
connected by the hinge 7 directly to the upper frame member 5 has a
concave curvature in the longitudinal direction of the back rest or
its lateral frame members 4, as seen from its front side facing a
seat occupant, while the lower plate 9 has a convex curvature. The
curvature of both plates together, as seen in a side view,
corresponds substantially to the normal sinusoidal curvature of the
spinal column of a seat occupant. The lower edge of the upper plate
8 and the upper edge of the lower plate 9 are connected to each
other by a hinge 10 the axis of which extends parallel to the axis
of hinge 7 and therefore also parallel to the upper transverse
frame member 5 and approximately coincides with the reversing point
of the sinusoidal curve which is formed by both plates 8 and 9 when
seen from the side, and which point is located near the center of
the height of the back rest depending upon the total length of its
frame.
The lower end of the lower plate 9 is provided with two connecting
bars 11 which are either resilient or, if rigid, are resiliently or
flexibly connected to plate 9 and extend transversely to the
longitudinal direction of the lower transverse frame member 6 and
are slidable in the longitudinal direction of the lateral frame
members 4 in guide brackets 12 which are secured to frame member 6.
The lower edge of the lower plate 9 will therefore remain connected
to and be guided by the lower frame member 6 by means of this
slidable connection of bars 11 and brackets 12 when the two plates
8 and 9 are pivoted relative to each other and thereby cause the
distance between the lower edge of the lower plate 9 and the upper
edge of the upper plate to be changed.
Adjacent to the hinge 10 which connects the two plates 8 and 9 to
each other, one of these plates, for example, plate 8, rests across
its entire width on a rod 13 and remains in engagement therewith by
guide brackets 22 which are secured to this plate. The opposite
ends of rod 13 projecting laterally over the edges 8' and 9' of the
plates are secured to the sun wheels of a pair of equal
self-locking planetary gears 14 and 15 which are mounted in gear
housings on the lateral frame members 4. As indicated at the left
side of FIG. 1, the planet wheels of these gears are secured to a
common shaft 17 which is adapted to be turned by a hand wheel 16.
When hand wheel 16 is turned on the outer side of one lateral frame
member 4, rod 13 will carry out a circular movement about the axis
of shaft 17 and will thereby pivot the upper plate 8 about the axis
of hinge 7 and also pivot the two plates 8 and 9 relative to each
other about the axis of hinge 10 and also the lower plate 9 about
an axis which extends through the connecting bars 11 if they are
resilient, or if they are rigid through their flexible or hinged
connections to the lower end of the lower plate 9. When such a
pivoting movement is being carried out, the lower edge of plate 9
will also shift upwardly or downwardly, while the connecting bars
11 will slide within the brackets 12 on the lower frame member
6.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show the plates 8 and 9 in two differnt positions to
which they have been adjusted by the hand wheel 16 and the two
planetary gears 14 and 15. Since these planetary gears are
self-locking, plates 8 and 9 will remain in the particular position
to which they have been adjusted. In the position as illustrated in
FIG. 2, the lower plate 9 is pivoted for a considerable distance
forwardly of the plane which is formed by the frame of the back
rest. This causes the two plates together to have a considerable
sinusoidal curvature, while the depth of the seat is reduced. FIG.
3 illustrates a position in which the sinusoidal curvature of the
back rest 3 is reduced and the depth of the seat is increased.
Since the two plates 8 and 9 are rigid and consist, for example, of
sheet metal or a hard plastic, a padding 18 is applied thereon
which also smoothes out any angularity between the adjacent edges
of plates 8 and 9 which are connected by the hinge 10.
As shown particularly in FIG. 1, a pair of tubular members 21 is
welded upon the upper plate 8. These tubular members 21 are adapted
to receive two rods 19 which may be adjusted in these members 21,
for example, by setscrews, to different heights above the upper
frame member 5 and have a head support 20 pivotably connected to
their upper ends. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pivoting
movement of plates 8 and 9 also results in a considerable
displacement of the head support 20 in the longitudinal direction
of the seat. Of course, the head support 20 may also be replaced by
a head support of a different shape and construction as long as it
is secured directly or indirectly to the upper plate 8.
Although my invention has been illustrated and described with
reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, I wish to have it
understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such
embodiment but is capable of numerous modifications within the
scope of the appended claimms.
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